Journal of progress on my 1935 Ford pickup hot rod build

11/06/2013

Chop and Channel Complete

I've learned over the past couple weeks that mocking the project up can be a both exciting & confusing stage of the build. One one hand you have the frame, cab & bed all tacked together & you get a good feel for what the truck is turning out like. On the other hand, the mockup can be misleading. It's natural to conclude that the truck is nearly done when in fact a bunch of hard work is only just beginning.

For example, setting the cab on the frame is a far cry from completing the channel job properly. Chopping the roof doesn't mean there still isn't a ton of work left to do to finish the doors & chop the windshield.

Long story short, Rudy has worked his ass off in October getting the chop & channel finished - & finished properly I might add. As I'm finding is typical with Rudy's work he doesn't cut corners, and while the results mean this truck will look like it rolled off a Ford production line this way, attention to detail doesn't come overnight.

The hard work has paid off though & the chop & channel are finally complete. Not only that, but the firewall has been cut out & the steering column has been installed.

It's been nice to get the truck off jack stands. The project looks downright nasty when the tires hit the pavement & you get a feel for the slammed profile & killer rake.

These 1935 doors are a pain to cut down. The top and bottom taper, there's a ton of detailed angles that require serious fabrication hours

After all the pie cutting, welding & smoothing the door looks like it might have rolled off a Ford production line

One of the areas a lesser shop might cut corners would be the interior of the door. After all, who will see it since the door is shut most of the time? Just like the exterior of the door the interior has been painstakingly finished properly

The finished result looks great. With a little body work this will look really slick. Note that the windshield has also been chopped - it cranks out too!

Here's a great look at the windshield and door profile. Looks positively wicked compared to the original stock height of this cab. Firewall has been removed in anticipation of the engine and transmission mock up

The channel job has been finished off. Of note, the bracket along the back of the cab. The new metal on the door sills blends perfectly with the vintage Henry Ford steel along the bottom. Even retained original rivets